On the Sharkas community in Jordan
Jordan, Culture, 1/12/2004

The Sharkas community in Jordan asserts that the Loyalty and commitment to Jordan is above their cling to their original home land ( Caucasus ), from where they were obliged to leave by the mid of the 19th century amid the bloody struggle with the Russian Tzar regime of that time.

On this subject, the former member of the Jordanian parliament, Toujan al-Faisal, says that the Sharkas in Jordan consider themselves Jordanians in the first place, and Sharkas in the second place, and they are part of the Jordanian society, and they do not have special objectives seperate of other Jordanians, besides they do not think of returning back to their original country.

Al- Faisal however, said that the minimization of the Sharkas presence in the leading posts of the Jordanian ruling establishments, in comparison to the previous situation in the 1980s, justifying that on the desire of the government to eliminate dependence on the Sharkas.

According to Sharkas's estimates, the number of the Sharkas community in Jordan reached 125,000, all of them are Muslims, and they came to Jordan fleeing of the Tzar's repression in 1875. Most of them affiliates to the middle class. Worthy mentioning that the Sharkas and the Chechenean communities have three seats in the Jordanian parliament, they had according to quota system.

The Sharkas are careful to preserve their own language, tradition and heritage. The chairman of the Sharkas society in Jordan stressed that preserving their culture does not contradict with their integration in the Jordanian society.

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